Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-03-23

81 will get the key, he said, leading me int
his simple parlor and bidding me sit dow,
while he q upstairs to fetch it.
Tn room was one Of the poorest in poin
!, Of decoration and furniture that I had see,
in any house in the village; and yet Their,
was n object which by its great beauty
compensated for all the unloveliness of tn,
rest. 1t was the picture of a young woman
painted in oils and signed by a painter who
about thirty years ago, had been at the sum
NIT Of his art. The girlrepresented was thu
most lovely, and it seemed to me that he,
face was n which had been the model ol
many other artists as famous as the one whe
had painted this portrait. A royalty femi
nine face, and here clothed with that ex
preston Of timidity, blushing and afraid,
which in some women is so sweet and SC
strongly appeals to all that is noblest and
most manly in man.
This was my first impression; but, az ]
looked at it longer the timidity from being
subjective merely seemed to grow objective.
It was not a timid girl, it was a girl afraid.
Her eyes seemed to look with horror-for,
on still closer observation the fear grew into
horror-on something that was not repre-
sented in the picture. How could it be,
seeing that those fearful eyes were looking
out of the panel, straight over my head, who
stood facing her, at the wall behind me!
The picture was by far too fine a work Of art
for one to suppose that any attempt had been
made to enhance its interest by an extraordi-
nary and theatrical mis-en-scene, and I felt
it would be an insult % the great painter to
turn round and see if anything was visible
to explain the expression of those eyes.
Moreover it was the expression that held me,
not the reason thereof. l am not Of those
who seek in every picture an illustration.
I had stood before it some time, sadly en-
vious of the technique Of the departed hand,
and wondering what angel hand-the angel
Raphael's perhaps-had guided the painters
fingers when he had mixed that color of sun
kissed auburn that sung-and colors sing
from those clustering curls of hair, when the
cure came back into the room.
I turned as I heard his step, and as I did
SO my eyes fell on the wall on which my
back had been turned. Directly opposite the
picture and in the point of vision of its eyes
hung a rapier. As I looked closer I saw
that the point Of this sword was black-of
that i'll omened black that blood long since
shed does take. I almost felt angry. Blood
stained rapier, or chrome Autograph of some
hobgoblin, ghoul or specter, it annoyed me- to
think that any n should have ventured,
with the most vulgar taste Of melodramatic
effect, to complete what was already so sub
timely and perfectly complete. 1t was the
act of a bourgeoise of the bourgeoise, uneasy
and disturbed if the Sevres china statuette Of
a Vatican shepherdess on this side Of his
Louis XIV timepiece has not on the yon sids
of it, fronting her as pendant, a languishing
C0rvd0n Nv annnvanoo wac ca ronl fhot
paid but little attention to all that the cure,
who had now greatly sunk in my esteem,
showed me and told me. I vaguely remem-
Der that he led me through a churchyard,
where, by the grave Of his predecessor, he
pointed out the plot Of ground where he was
to rest himself; that he ted me that the
church was many hundred years old, and had
been, dams lie temps, the lodge of a company
Of knights Templar, whose bodies lay
shrouded in stone sepulchers in a remotep part
Of the cemetery. The church was very I'M
interesting to me in my preoccupation. |
in massive copper on one Of the affairs. |
b cure had bought them from a dealer in
old metals, to whom al ignorant colleague
had sold them at the rate of %ninepence per
pound.
"Then you have some taste" I thought.
'But that only makes it more inexcusabIe."
I was examining these candlesticks when
a peasant girl came up to us, and with many
clumsy courtesies told NJ. le Cure that bis
supper had been served.
She had a motherly tone with the old
man, this girl of Is, and would not hear Of
his showing ME the vestry.
"That will be for another day." she said.
"The important thing now is that NJ. lie Cure
should not let that beautiful trout get cold.
One has opened a bottle of ChabIis to drink
with it, and there will be an omelette aux
fines herbes and some peaches in the second
service"
"She seems a very intelligent child" l
said, as I accompanied the cure to his door.
lis she your ~servant?"
20, no." he answered, with q smile.
''That would not be allowed. My servant
i'll in bed and this girl is taking Der place.
But no, monsieur, I cannot let you go now.
must come in and share my supper.
Jeanette, lay another cover"
II did that in ADVANCE" answered the
girl. "When NJ. le Cure has visitors''-
"He insists on their becoming his guests.
You are right, and monsieur sees it,"
The trout, perfectly cooked, was firm and
;weet; the Chablis, cool and fragrant, with
faint scent of %violets, cleaned like livid
,old in my glass; the table was exquisitely
aid; the silver, the plate of peaches, the yell
ow rose laid on the white cloth were very
,~eautiful to the eye; the cure, with his
nelodious voice full of caressing notes,
my ear as his anecdotes and wit
my mind. But all these delights
vere powerless to distract my attention from
he annoyance I had experienced. My calm
vas marred. / barely listened to my host,
ct gave him enough attention to regret my
r~eoccupation. At another time his CONVEX
would have charmed me, who for now
lany months had heard only the sordid bar
of the Norman peasants in their
rawling n inharmonious patois.
He had been speaking about the Oxford
.evival, n had quoted the pope's remarks
n the Puseyites, that like bell ringers they
the world to come into the holy
hurch, but themselves did not enter 1t,
1hen, unable to contain myself any longer,
rudely interrupted him, saying: But why
her glorious passion? Why make
er sublime fear paltry and ridiculous? One ,
nnoys the timidity Of children with blood
aimed rapiers, skulls or chromos Of 'Fox's -,
They cannot explain her terror. .
hey only insult her," ,
The cure smiled, and seemed at once to l..
what it was I was referring to. )
"You are right, monsieur" he said, lit is :.
/ bad taste. But it is Bette's fault, not !
.
"Bette, he continued, 'ismy old servant, :
10 n who is lying ill upstairs. She has =
cen most faithful and devoted to me ever '
nee she came to this place now twenty .
ears ago. used to keep that rapier in my y
but it was not long before she -
,und it out, and then she insisted OF hang :
lg it where you saw it. The arrangement =
as always rather spoiled my pleasure in the .
icture, and my reason is the same as yours; .
ut I could not find it in my heart to thwart :.
10 cool old woman's wish. She would have =
thus and would take no contradiction on y
lis point" VI
II suppose" I r%ejoined, "the good woman
as vexed at the sight Of the girl frightened
nothing. The blood stained sword would
,plain this fear and make the tableau COM ,
etc. It is natural in a peasant woman u
ut I should have been better pleased with lie
cite if she had completed it in another way. y
instance, if she had hung opposite those ~
-sG-1 = "